Sonic cursed under his breath as he caught sight of Shadow's striped quills. He held quite some distance between them, having no clue what to say if he did speed up and stop him. He knew he'd notice him following too if he kept this up for very long. At this point, he was screwed no matter what he did, or so he thought. Curse Shadow; why did he have to make things so difficult? Unable to make up his mind, the blue blur continued to dart around trees and watch the conniving hedgehog in front of him.
Shadow ducked underneath a low branch and steered left slightly, taking a quick glance behind him from his temporarily hidden position. It wasn't as good an opportunity as he thought, and the ebony hedgehog frowned, having not seen the other. He started to wonder if his plan was coming to fruition or not, and began to slow just a little at the thought that he might, indeed, be wasting his own time. "Damn." He furrowed his brow, 'skating' even slower. Had his luck really just run out on him completely? Shadow wondered if Sonic already headed back to Eggman's real base, but he pressed on... there was still a chance, but he honestly expected the bastard to catch up to him by now.
Sonic squinted his eyes, making sure that speck he was following didn't disappear on him or turn into something else. He didn't notice Shadow looking back at all but he did notice him slowing down. That made inner alarms go off as paranoia struck him. Should he blast up there and explain if his cover was blown? Was that why Shadow was slowing down? ...But why would he? In fact, you'd think if the black hedgehog knew he had been lying to him, he'd be a lot more upset than he was to begin with. If his cover was blown, then he'd probably race back to Sonic, say something nasty or assault him, and then go on ahead. So why was he slowing down? What was he up to? The blue hedgehog tried to keep himself concealed behind trees, constantly running behind them and jumping towards another to make sure Shadow stayed in his sights.
The black hedgehog finally came to a complete halt, holding his head low as he pondered where to go from here. Should he turn around? No.. Sonic was sure to be gone by now, and there was really no point. The idea that he was left alone made him feel a little off, and the hedgehog bit his lip, weighing out the options of going left, right, forward, or caving and heading back. He glanced around, surveying the area. To be honest, no one thing sounded better than the other, and he was so far away from where the two had last conversed, that he saw little chance of the lookalike being there, even if he had given Shadow the opportunity to return. He knew that the basic direction Sonic was headed in was off to the left a little, and it seemed like a pretty good idea to make his way around towards where Sonic claimed the base was.
Sonic pressed his quills against a large trunk of a tree. His heart was pounding heavily against his chest, part of him concerned the hedgehog knew he was stalking him, and was about to confront him. As he peeked out from around the tree, however, he began to grow a bit more relaxed and a grin gradually grew on his face. Shadow had been bluffing. This just reignited his confidence when he started to look off in the direction originally staked out for them. Now Sonic just had to come up with the perfectly obnoxious thing to say once he started heading back and approach him. He wouldn't let him live this one down.
Shadow flicked his ears annoyedly as he started in the chosen direction. Without knowing, he picked up speed quicker than before, a look of utter determination on his face. Shadow was pretty disgusted with himself and his childish display, and he had thrown away how much time? Put how much more distance between himself and his goal? For what? He shook his head. He was really being no better than that blue bastard, and he was embarrassed before himself more than anything.
What really got to him was that Sonic had been telling the truth. He really knew where he was going. Not that Shadow would openly admit that he believed that now, but he did admit to himself how foolish he was for being so cynical. Did Sonic not, after all, stand up for him this morning? No, Shadow frowned and narrowed his eyes. No.. that was him showing off just like Rouge. To Show just how much more knowledgeable he was about this planet and the proper way of living. Because Shadow didn't comprehend things like currency, Sonic was just as amused at his position as that damned bat. Why should he feel guilt at all for his behavior? Sonic had given him every reason to display his lack of faith.
Still.. this time it was him that came out on the bottom of things. He had to find the Emerald.
Sonic shot off after him and this time made an effort to close the gap between them. It'd take some time considering how fast the other was running. He must be intending to catch up to him and the hedgehog was relieved to think he almost fell for Shadow's sneakiness but didn't. He was rather surprised; he's never pulled something on his level before. That was fine though, because in the end, he still won.
Sonic decided to run off to the side, trying to do a big circle to meet Stripes in the front. He wanted to act as though he had been waiting on him to not make things too suspicious.
Shadow leaned into the wind, pushing even harder, despite how much his body longed for a break - not just those short breaks he kept allowing himself, but a real breather. Instead of giving in to his screaming lungs, he forced himself to go even faster, thoughts of what could be happening to the Master Emerald starting to creep into the back of his mind. It didn't help any that he had been a jerk to Sonic, but he justified his treatment with further reminders of how the other had treated him. Besides, while he was wasting all his thoughts on unimportant issues, he could be concentrating on going faster. Shadow had yet to realize just how fast he was already going, and he only narrowly avoided making impact with a couple of trees in the process. As the plant life grew more sparse, he realized he was getting close to where the other had been, and he only had to circle back to the left again to make it back.
That was something he wasn't so sure he was ready to do. After all, could he just so easily admit defeat if Sonic was still there? He flattened his ears against the air resistance and made the turn, deciding that he could just avoid the subject, lie, or simply beat the crap out of the hedgehog if he started. Still, what if he wasn't there? Shadow felt a little worried that he would have to keep going blindly to catch up, and no matter how he looked at it, he was in a bad situation.
'Did he have to run so fast?' Sonic put all he had behind his legs in order to match Shadow's speed and soar ahead of him. He came closer to hitting more trees than he did by the time he reached his destination. Luckily Shadow didn't know this was a race - but he certainly acted like this was one!
As the black hedgehog came up to the spot he had left Sonic, his hopes were met as his unwanted friend - and more - stood there, patting his foot and looking expecting. He did his very best to keep his breathing under control as his chest strained to pant, his heart thumping dramatically in his ears. As he eyed the speed demon approaching in a fraction of a second, his arms crossed over his chest, standing directly in his path. He grinned, having barely made it.
Shadow made to stop, but no matter how hard his jets flared, he kept going. His eyes widened in surprise as he tried to lean enough off of them to force them to cut off, and as they obliged, his heels slammed into the ground. He finally came to a complete halt inches from Sonic. He blinked, having no clue how fast he was moving before, then erased the shock and replaced it with an equally impatient glare.
He didn't like that look on the other's face one bit.
Panting, Shadow erected himself, taking a couple of steps back cautiously, as if he expected the faker to lash out concerning their closeness. His shoulders heaved with every breath, and his ears slowly, weakly, began to upright themselves. He tensed and relaxed his calf muscles to avoid any cramps from the abrupt halt, ignoring how much his body was screaming at him; and watched the other, knowing he was going to hear some damned remark any second.
"Oi, Shadow. What's wrong? Were you hallucinating before? Suddenly remembered you didn't know where Eggman's base was? Come to beg for my forgiveness and follow me in the right direction? Well, I'm listening." His arms uncrossed and he made a motion with one of his hands for him to speak up "Go on."
Shadow growled. Something was still off, his intuition warned him, but he dismissed it.. at least for the moment. "Shut up," he barked between heavy breaths. "This has taken too much time already." Shadow lowered his head threateningly, in the event Sonic should continue as he closed the distance once more between them. Keeping his fiery eyes focused on the emerald depths, he latched his hand around Sonic's forearm, baring his teeth in a venomous scowl. He looked at the faker expectantly. "Chaos Control." It was not a command to the Emeralds, but to Sonic.
Blue flinched as he grabbed him but masked an uncomfortable expression by maintaining his previous one that immediately collapsed into something unexpected. He stared, eyes widening a little, giving him a most dumbfounded look. Somehow he didn't expect him to suggest that. His mind was blank for a moment as the world paused around him and he continued to register his comment nice and slow.
"What?" He grunted, blinking a few times to help moisten drying eyes, while appearing as though he hadn't paid attention. Swallowing, he thought about what to say next while stalling. He quite obviously couldn't do Chaos Control when he wasn't yet certain of their destination whereabouts.
Without giving him a chance to respond, Sonic came up with the perfect excuse. "Ah, I can't." He uttered calmly as he regained his composure. "Eggman's base is just too far away, you see."
Again, Shadow suspected a loophole in Sonic's tale. He let go in an almost nonchalant manner, a pout slightly obvious on his muzzle as he turned away in thought. How much farther was he willing to go with Sonic on trust alone? Already he'd blown it once, and he didn't know just what was missing. He frowned, concentration etched into his brow as he turned back around. "Is this going to take much longer than an hour?" He knew the answer before he even finished the question, but he focused his crimson intently on the other, hoping it was only a small distance away, that Sonic had exaggerated before.
He was unbelievably relieved that Shadow didn't question him anymore than that. He didn't let that show; he tried to remain as cool and collected as ever. As the black hedgehog turned back towards him with another inquiry, of course, Sonic couldn't answer with full certainty...
"Well, if you keep us standing around like this, then definitely." He assured with an equally reassuring grin. He turned towards the way he had been leading them, hands rising to clasp on his hips. "Just follow me and relax." He eyed him over his shoulder. "We'll get the Master Emerald back in no time. You'll see."
Shadow said nothing more. He was tempted to, but he couldn't think of anything witty, but not too witty to get his point across without lingering even longer. Keeping his gaze pointedly away from the other, the hedgehog stepped forward, lining up alongside his rival as if at the starting line for an unspoken race. He folded his arms as his breathing evened out, and he was secretly grateful for the small break their bickering allotted his aching legs. Already, he was prepared to take off again. But, however unfortunate, he had to let Sonic take the lead. Again.
Sonic took another second to himself, still trying to catch his own breath that he was trying to conceal before. His heart was still pounding pretty fast but he didn't need to slow down for very much longer. As Shadow got ready to follow him, the hedgehog sped off with his arms behind him, kicking up dirt as he went. Once again he set an unknown course for the two, hoping by some lucky chance he'd be able to pin-point where Eggman has hidden himself this time.
The striped hedgehog kicked off right behind him, smoothly transitioning from a sprint into using the jet shoes as he kept close to the other. He frowned, taking a glimpse across to the blue lookalike as he piped back up. "Why are you so determined to accompany me?" His eyes returned to the wooded area before him to make sure he wasn't about to collide with anything. "Hmph. You could just tell me how to get there, and we could go our separate ways." He didn't need Sonic to hold his hand and walk him through this. Shadow could certainly handle himself.
Sonic smiled at him, seemingly friendly as ever, but left with that sharp edge attitude and cocky smirk that always rubbed one the wrong way. Did he always intend for that to happen? Maybe. Especially in Shadow's presence; annoying the other was amusing but at the same time getting along with him to some point was essential for whatever kind of relationship they were in. Surely they wouldn't ignore the details forever, would they? Would Shadow?
"What would be the fun in that?"
"Who said it was supposed to be fun?" he snapped the moment Sonic finished his question. Was Sonic seriously that immature? He growled as he started up again, "Everything's just a game to you, isn't it?" He honestly questioned that bastard's sanity. If Sonic could take anything seriously, Shadow would probably be at a loss of what to think. That in itself was pathetic. He almost rolled his eyes at memories of Sonic being a complete moron. Almost.
Still not phased by Shadow's determination of being a downer, Sonic casually responded, not giving a second thought to his question. "Nah." He swerved around a tree before gracefully bounding back to his straight path near Shadow. He continued to kick up rock and dust behind him as the forest air hit his face and heightened his mood despite his answer.
Although it didn't seem like it, he could be serious when the situation really called for it. What would worrying do now? There was no point in being serious at the moment and make this time more miserable than it may turn into later. One should make the most out of everything and Sonic wasn't going to let his mood be spoiled when he could so easily turn this into something more exciting and adventurous - at least in his mind. He'd much rather have an adventure than stay behind and let Shadow have all the fun despite the fact the black hedgehog was too dull to realize it. He wouldn't know fun if it punched him in the face!
Perhaps he was a little unlikely to understand fun as Sonic knew it, however.. he had a mission to do. He had a responsibility. As the ebony hedgehog kept pace with the other, taking another glance at him, he realized it was hoping for too much to think Sonic would ever get it. He was far too immature. Shadow narrowly missed some brush and decided to pay more attention. Letting his mind wander was no good idea right now, as he already had too much stress to deal with.
"So what do you think Eggman is using the Master Emerald for?" Sonic wondered; it could be for anything. He didn't care to discuss it all that much but decided to make small talk in order to bring Shadow a little further out of his shell. Whatever Eggman was scheming, he was quite sure of himself he'd be able to stop it - despite the fact he didn't even know where him or the Master Emerald was.
"That is inconsequential." Well... maybe not. Shadow hoped so. "I am going to remove it from his possession immediately and leave." Why did Sonic even care? Shadow assumed it was an attempt at getting him to hold conversation, and decided it was best to keep his answers more limited should the hedgehog ask anything further. He pressed on instead, lining up his strides evenly as he made the best out of every glide. No looks were spared for the other.
"What's your favorite color?" Shadow was right, what did it matter what Eggman's plans were? However, knowing which color Shadow was fonder of was...not that important either. In fact a ridiculously random question that the hedgehog had an impulse of curiosity to ask. He was more intent on holding conversation than the other may realize and maybe annoy him a little in the process.
"I don't know..." Shadow moved in closer, just long enough for the other to see his twisted, maniacal grin. "Depends on what the resulting combination is when I crush your skull." With that, he snorted, bending his lips into a threatening frown as he backed away once more, swinging his arms as he aimed to go faster, preferably forcing the other to catch up since he was the one that should be in the lead.
Sonic blinked, dumbfounded, at Shadow's response. He didn't expect that at all. He gave him an awkward smile, unsure how to react. There was at least one witty retort floating around in his head that went ignored. Instead he decided to retaliate by once again ending Shadow's lead and suddenly taking a sharp left. He shot off in this new direction that led a dust trail to him, giving Shadow time to respond and follow, but he pumped his legs harder in order to force strain on the other's muscles.
Shadow cursed, making use of a certain four letter word before veering left, the fact that he was not touching the earth directly causing him to swing a bit wider than the blue hedgehog. "Damn you," he breathed to himself, but if they had to go left, then it was probably his own fault for speeding up ahead. He found himself unable to come up with some remark, since he made the assumption that he had himself to blame, and indeed did strain himself to catch up.
Just when the striped hedgehog was about to catch up to him, Sonic took another turn, right, forcing them to go straight again. He smirked against the wind as Shadow undoubtedly followed, forced to go wherever he chose. Whether the other wanted to acknowledge it or not, Sonic had the power of control, and he had to follow him wherever he went. That was a fun idea to roll around in his head and he pondered the thought of zigzagging around like a maniac.
"What the--" Shadow furrowed his brow suspiciously as Sonic turned again, and he cut a right, baring his sharp teeth in a silent and unseen warning. He sped after, regardless, kicking up his boosters a bit with the force from his strides. What was he doing? Obviously there was no threat around. Shadow guessed he was just getting revenge for Shadow shooting off ahead before, and now that they were going back in the 'right direction' that would be the end to the other's little game. He didn't put too much faith in that concept, but he could only hope Sonic wasn't entirely off his rocker.
Fortunately it seemed he was unable to continue anymore of his childish antics due to a rather rude interruption. Ears rose and eyes widened in a dumbfounded expression as he seemed to have triggered off motion detectors and a trap. The ground quivered beneath his feet as he came to a sliding halt, motion sensors camouflaged into the scenery around him. Along with a couple of other interesting things. Shadow rose a brow and came to a stop behind him, twisting at the last second to brake with his right foot as he glanced down. Instinctively and immediately, he looked up to take in his surroundings, ears twitching at the noises surrounding the pair.
A row of trees on both sides of them whirred mechanically and their branches started to cock and load. Sonic was smiling. "Man, am I lucky." A rather odd thing to say when he wasn't being sarcastic; but he was apparently close to a certain mad scientist and all his running around hadn't been in vain. He was spared an inevitable throttling from Shadow if he hadn't found the base too.
Sure enough, Eggman's head icon was carved into the trunks of those trees that only seemed evident after their branches shot from those bodies like spears at the intruding hedgehogs. Obviously some sort of security system. Of course, this was a problem to explain to Shadow later in its self, but he'd think of something. Right now, Sonic put his quick-thinking and fast legs to the test, lunging up into the air to avoid being impaled.
Shadow's brow furrowed sharply as he kicked off to the left, lips curving into a concentrated scowl. He dodged easily, wondering why Sonic didn't warn him.
Then again, the hedgehog had a ridiculous sense of humor, one that rivaled Shadow's in darkness. Still, how he managed to slip by the others without anyone noticing this, his satisfaction and need for anything dangerous, the black hedgehog had no clue. He knew one thing, though, and it was that Sonic should have given him some kind of warning.
He risked a glimpse at the other, throwing a dirty look. He'd love to give Sonic a good beating about now.
After doing a showy, aerial flip in the air, previously mentioned hedgehog landed neatly on his feet with his arms crossed coolly. He exchanged a quick, smug, look with Shadow to ensure he saw just how awesome and graceful he is. He knew better than to stay still for long though, and Sonic took off running in their previous direction, but soon found himself grinding to a stop yet again. He blinked as roots came out of the ground like vines and giant oak trees and pines lifted from the forest floor, ultimately blocking his path. But this was different. There was no mechanical whirring or anything of the sort. The trees seemed... alive?